Well, it's simply not the same. On foot, everything moves at an almost leisurely pace. Almost, because it can be strenous, especially uphill. It mustn't bee too much, because if you begin too fast, you can't keep that up all day. So there generally is a lot of time to talk about all that you never have time to talk about during the year. Daddy has explained quite a lot of physics to the kids, and Sonny could make up a whole fantasy game world in his mind. OK, some passages are so narrow and difficult you have to walk single file, but every day, there are a few gravel or little-traveled paved roads that make conversation at least in twos possible.
And of course, on foot you can reach beautiful places in the mountains that are inacessible to vehicle travel, such as the Malga Spora in the Dolomitit di Brenta picutred above. Simple accomodation, but a spaghetti bolognese we'll never forget. The only other way to get to many such places is by helicopter, and for the general public, that means you had an accident or a medical emergency and the only direction is down to the nearest hospital... luckily we were spared that.
